


Unexpected (part two)

by georgiamagnolia



Series: The Plot Bunnies of Barba and Benson [13]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, HAWTNESS, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:28:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29631879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgiamagnolia/pseuds/georgiamagnolia
Summary: After a bit of a delay, Rafael and Olivia get to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Olivia Benson
Series: The Plot Bunnies of Barba and Benson [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945330
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	Unexpected (part two)

The car warmed and the fog on the windows disappeared. After finishing the dessert treats, Olivia prepared to pull out of the parking space. When she did, they could see that Fin and Amanda had escorted Lucy, Gary, and the Fyfe family out of the building. The man at the town car stood waiting still. The Fyfes approached him, their body language making it plain that they were familiar with the man. The older man hugged Caroline and then her parents. Caroline was obviously filling in details of the evening if her animated gestures were anything to go by. She pointed out Lucy and Gary and the older man stepped toward them where they waited with the detectives. Caroline came with him, making introductions and handshakes were exchanged. Olivia had no problem letting Fin and Amanda supervise the family reunion and pulled away, leaving work behind gladly.

“Want to get something to go or take our chances with leftovers at home?”

Rafael watched Olivia navigate the streets on the way back to their home, smiling as she kept her eyes on the road, waiting to answer until they were at a red light and she gave him a look that told him she suspected something was up because he wasn’t answering. “Dinner is taken care of, just delayed. We need to stop by home first though.”

The light turned green so Olivia continued forward, giving her husband some side-eye but grinning as well, trusting that whatever his plan it would be revealed soon. As soon as they were in the door of their apartment, Rafael’s phone rang.

“Great timing, Mami, we just walked in the door.” Rafael walked toward the home office they had made of one of the bedrooms. He dropped his briefcase on his desk and turned back toward the front door where Olivia was opening the safe in their front hall closet and depositing her service weapon. “Well, put him on and I’ll hand the phone to Liv.” He held his phone out to Olivia who smiled and took it, holding it to her ear and Noah was already talking. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day to you, too, sweet boy. Are you having fun at Abuelita’s house?

Rafael watched Olivia’s face as Noah chattered happily to her, the soft smile and the way her eyes glowed hearing the joy in her son’s voice made Rafael smile, their happiness was his and if that was gooey, well, he’d take the hit to his no-nonsense reputation any day. He headed for the bedroom and took a suitcase from the closet, opening it on the bed. He’d planned to do this before Olivia made it home but the evening’s emergency had nixed the start of his Valentine surprise. The rest of it was in place and while they were getting a late start, there was still some surprise to be had. Olivia had followed him and was watching him with raised brows and confusion in her eyes even as she continued to talk to Noah on the phone. She was distracted now, but still listening, then told Noah she needed to talk to Abuelita for a moment. 

“Lucia, are you sure you want to have Noah over for the whole weekend? He says you invited him for some party tomorrow?” Olivia was starting to get a suspicious look in her eyes now, watching Rafael packing the suitcase, keeping his things on one side of the case. He went to the closet and chose a suit, then added the accompanying bits of suspenders and tie and all the things that Olivia secretly enjoyed watching him assemble each morning before work. It looked like he was planning something that would include going out and looking nice since he was packing a suit he knew she liked. “I’m watching your son pack half a suitcase so I’m thinking I need to go help or he’ll start choosing for me and that might end badly for me, I know I can’t pull off the pattern choices he wears, so yes you may have Noah for the weekend with my blessing, but I think you knew that already.” Olivia laughed at whatever Lucia said to her in reply. “Yes please, put Noah back on so I can make him promise not to eat only candy all weekend. Thanks, Lucia.” Lucia said something else and Olivia replied with, “Love you, too, have fun.” Then Noah must have come back on the line because Olivia elicited promises of good behaviour and exchanged more ‘love yous’ and then handed the phone back to Rafael, “Your son wants a word.”

“Noah, Happy Valentine’s Day.” Rafael said when he took the phone. 

“Papi, did Mama like her surprise?”

“She doesn’t know about it yet, but she’s been watching me pack so she knows something’s up. I’m busted.”

“I can’t wait to show you all the cards I got today and Abuelita Lucia says tomorrow we can go to the store for half-off candy day, is that a real holiday? Did you remember to pack the Valentine I made for Mama?”

“I don’t think that’s a real holiday, but a lot of people celebrate it so maybe someday it will be. And yes, I did remember but thank you for reminding me. Be good for Abuelita and we’ll see you Sunday night.”

“I will. See you Sunday, love you!”

Lucia came back on the line then, “Have a good weekend, mijo, take good care of our Olivia.”

“I’m trying, Mami, I am.”

“I know you are. Love you, have fun.”

When he finished the call, he saw that Olivia was checking out what he had packed. “Two nights and two days, including something to wear dancing. I was on my way home to pack for us and have the bag in tow when I met you for dinner, but the evening turned somewhat more exciting than I expected, so you get to pack your own things instead.”

“I generally trust your choices, but what exactly were you planning to pack for me to wear?” She looked more bemused than upset, which reassured Rafael.

“A pair of jeans and a shirt, a sweater in case it’s chilly, the usual.” He walked into the closet and came back out with her wedding dress and a pair of low heeled shoes, the ones she’d married him in. “This is perfect for dancing and it’s a shame to leave it in the back of the closet, considering how amazing you look in it.” 

Olivia smiled at the look on her husband’s face, hopeful but also a little trepidatious, it was unusual to see Rafael look less than a hundred percent confident. The thought that he might be nervous of what she thought of his plan was endearing. “It’s a solid choice.” She nodded and he smiled in return. “Are you going to tell me why we need to pack? How far from home are we going? And how long have you and apparently your mom and our son been planning this?”

“You worked on your birthday a few weeks back.”

“Yes, and I came home to a beautiful home cooked meal of Lechon Asado, chocolate cake, and my two favourite people in the world waiting on me hand and foot. It was glorious.”

“Noah and I agreed that you deserve a little more time to enjoy being spoiled, and my mother was only too happy to help by inviting Noah for the weekend. Honestly, I think if I hadn’t planned this, she would have done it herself. She loves showing Noah off to her friends. They also plan to have Spanish Weekend where they speak only Spanish and she’s promised to teach him some simple recipes that he can help us with later. If he doesn’t become a cop and a lawyer, he might become a chef. Good thing he has time to decide.”

Olivia was putting her own clothing choices in the suitcase and laughed in agreement. “Well he does like to eat, not unlike his Papi, so chef might be a good choice. We can live off him when he takes the world by storm with his restaurant empire.”

“That’s our retirement sorted.” Rafael grinned. “I hope he has kids by then though, chasing after him in the park keeps my girlish figure intact for now, but that can’t last forever. He’ll be a teenager eventually and be ignoring us and avoiding talking.”

“Ugh, bite your tongue.” Olivia turned to look at him as he leaned against the closet door frame. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, “Better yet, let me.” She leaned forward and kissed him softly, belying her suggestion. He kissed her back, letting the kiss deepen, her lips parting and her head tilting to allow him to lick into her mouth and tantalize her with shared sensory memory of so many other kisses they’d shared. He pulled back to see that her eyes had darkened as he knew his had as well. “God, Rafa, that never gets old. I love you, even when you are planning surprises.” She laid her hand on his cheek, the softest caress as she looked in his eyes, “I trust you. With my heart and with my life and with our child. I trust that whatever you have planned will be fine even with a late start.” She pressed a soft kiss to his lips and pulled back to smile at him.

“I love you, Liv, never doubt it.”

*** *** ***

The hotel lobby was quiet when they entered, the smiling desk attendant offered to call for a bellboy but they declined. Olivia took the room keycards and Rafael took the luggage. In the elevator Olivia gave Rafael a long look, he was looking pleased with himself again, a look she didn’t dislike on him.

“I understand now why you said I wouldn’t need to pack a book.”

Rafael gave her his half grin and his eyes were telling her he was happy he had chosen just the right getaway for them both. “The Poetry and Love rooms are booked months in advance, especially for Valentine’s Day. I got us the Museum room. If you like it, I can get us on the list for one of the other rooms for another weekend. The Love room features books chosen by Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Perhaps our first anniversary celebration?” His half grin turned a bit feral and Olivia met it with one of her own, anticipating what that glint in his eye meant for later in the night. 

Their room was filled with books, shelves and shelves of books about museums from all over the world in several languages. The bed was already turned down with gold wrapped chocolates on each pillow and the nightstands on each side of the bed held complimentary bottles of spring water and wrapped glasses. On a sideboard was a bottle of champagne in a bucket with ice that hadn’t started to melt yet, champagne flutes, a basket of fruit and snacks, and a ribbon wrapped stack of more books. A bench at the end of the bed held wrapped robes for each of them as well as soft slippers, all with the hotel’s logo on them. While they were exploring the room there was a soft knock on the door. Rafael checked the security lens, then opened the door to a staff member with a dinner cart. He let the young woman in and she pushed the cart ahead of herself, smiling at them both.

“You can put your dishes on the cart and then slide it all in the hall when you are finished, or you can leave it inside and housekeeping will take care of it in the morning. If there is anything at all you need, just dial the front desk and we’ll be happy to help, any time day or night. Is there anything more I can do for you right now?”

“Thank you, I think we’ve got what we need for now.” Rafael tipped her and she slipped back out the door. Rafael checked the security bolt, then joined Olivia. “Dinner is served.”

“Everything is amazing, Rafa. I love it. But I am pretty sure we don’t need to do this again any time soon.”

“Have you forgotten that we are a two income household now?”

“Two public servant incomes.”

“Two public servants who own their own home, have no outstanding debts, and one of whom has some very safe investments. I did not dip into Noah’s college fund for our not quite illicit weekend.”

“Noah doesn’t have a college fund yet and how do you know it isn’t going to be illicit?”

“I can always hope for illicit, of course. And Noah does have a college fund. He’s had a college fund since you adopted him.”

Olivia just looked at Rafael as if he’d started talking in one of the languages she didn’t speak.

“I might have opened an account in his name. Some time ago now.” Rafael shrugged one shoulder. “I was planning to tell you about it and then with one thing and another, it slipped my mind. I know we’ve been talking about setting up a joint household account and when we do, I’ll sign the college fund over to you as I’d planned in the first place. We can talk about…”

Olivia cut him off by wrapping her arms around his neck again and kissing him silent. She pushed her hands into Rafael’s hair, amazed as she always was at the softness of it. Since he wasn’t in court very often now, he was going longer between haircuts and Olivia was secretly thrilled with that plan as it let her run her hands through his hair and not just massage his scalp with her fingertips as she did when his hair was courtroom short. She had never thought herself a particularly tactile person but then she’d married this brilliant, beautiful man and discovered that she enjoyed the reassurance of his touch, or perhaps she just admitted to herself finally that even his casual touch had been comfort to her for years. Even more she enjoyed the ability to touch in return, to give him the same subtle caring he gave her. He held her to him with his hands on the small of her back, sure and stable. Rafael pulled back and rested his forehead on hers.

“Liv, I never meant to come off as controlling or for you to think I saw you as anything but capable of taking care of Noah. I saw my mom worry about so many things when I was a kid, so many things my father didn’t give a damn about and you were nearly alone even though you have a literal squad of support with all the people Noah has seen fit to adopt as his own. I just wanted to make one thing a little easier. It isn’t much yet but by the time Noah is ready for whatever he wants, it should give him a start. We are so lucky to be doing jobs we love with people we genuinely respect and enjoy, most of the time. I want him to be able to find what fulfills him. He might want to run off with the circus or backpack across Europe or audition for the Bolshoi, I don’t know. I just know I want him to have the freedom to find his way. At least he has a crowd of people who will support his choice and cheer him on. We didn’t have that so much.”

Rafael finally stopped for a breath and Olivia chuckled. “We better look into Russian lessons then, the best circuses as well as the Bolshoi come from Russia and unless you’re holding out on me, you’re gonna need to learn to speak some.”

Rafael groaned and shook his head against hers. “Smartass.”

“I will admit, a few years ago I might have been upset or felt like you were making a safety net for Noah because of my own shortcomings. But now, today, I know better. I know how much you love our son. I know, in every fiber of my being, you love him and he loves you right back. You have every right to make provisions for his future. You are his real father, as real as I am his mother.” Olivia smiled, pecked a kiss on the corner of Rafael’s mouth and continued, “I’m also really glad I won’t have to face the terrible teens all by my lonesome. The twos were bad enough, at least then I could pick him up and put him in time out.”

Rafael hugged her to him again, his lips against her ear, “I love you but you had better not plan on ever leaving me to deal with the terrible teens alone. Even my not inconsiderable negotiation skills will be put to the test.” He kissed her temple and leaned back again, still holding her.

“Together, then, always.”

“Forever,” Rafael agreed.

After dinner they lounged on the bed, finishing the champagne and looking through the beribboned stack of books. The selection included travel guides for the National Parks of the USA, Europe by rail, and a beautifully photographed book about the Appalachian Trail. There were a few mystery books that neither of them had read as well as the Oxford Dictionary of Quotes and a book about writing and Kurt Vonnegut which had a paper sticking out of it. Olivia slid it out expecting a bookmark. 

“It’s a note, it says ‘get cracking on the memoirs already, Raf,’ and it’s only signed ‘M’.” She handed the note to Rafael who took it, looked at it, then rolled his eyes.

“Marcus, you are such a knucklehead,” he said, putting the paper back in the book it had been in. He looked up at Olivia, “I was at Harvard with Marcus. He wanted to become the next Hilton. He’s seems a little hands-on for a manager if he’s selecting the gift books.”

“Wait, gift books?”

“One of the add on perks that can be arranged, all these books tied in ribbon, those are ours to take home. I let them know we liked travel, mysteries, and we both liked reading but had very little time for it. I think the Vonnegut was purely Marcus, he remembers I like the author and one night after a final we might have joked about writing. Who knows.” Olivia gave him a speculative look. “I honestly did not use any undue influence to book the room, no old boy network discount or anything, I swear.”

“No worries, Counsellor, I was wondering what your memoirs would be titled.”

Rafael leaned back on the pillows and unwrapped his chocolate, popping it in his mouth and staring at the ceiling while he let the sweet melt on his tongue. He swallowed, took a sip of his champagne and smiled wryly. “Bronx Barrio to Brooklyn Boardroom: How to Get Ahead and Hafta Keep Tryin’,” he suggested. “Or maybe Catholic, Cubano, and Castoff: Surviving Brown in a WASP World. Too bitter?”

Olivia shoved the books aside and curled next to Rafael. He pulled her to him and she looked up at him. “Do you still feel like that?”

“Sometimes.”

She hugged him, at a loss for words to comfort so gave him what she could, her touch and her love. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you, but it’s not for you to be sorry. The world is what it is, we just have to do what we can in our corner of it to make it not so brutal.” After a few quiet moments Rafael continued, “No, none of that is right either, my memoirs would be titled Life is Like a Song.” Olivia leaned up and looked at Rafael who gave her a half grin. He started singing.

_“At last  
My love has come along  
My lonely days are over  
And life is like a song” _

When he finished he smiled and said, “Etta James.”

Olivia hugged him again and they laid together for a while, just breathing in the closeness and the contentedness that neither ever truly believed they could have.

*** *** *** 

“Chop, chop, Detective, we are making our reservation tonight.” Rafael snapped his towel at Olivia who was reclining on the bed, he missed by design but she still shot him a look. He laughed then she joined in.

They spent their afternoon touring the Morgan Library and Museum where they were captivated by an exhibit about Hemingway. It had been as invigorating as it was relaxing. They left their phones on silent the entire time. By mutual agreement they’d checked their phones only once when they returned from the museum, then turned them back to silent when there were no fires to put out. They’d both gotten a text from Lucy, thanking them again for their help the previous day. She had stayed the night with Caroline and both young women reported being fine. Olivia made a mental note to take some time on Monday to check and make sure the girls really were fine.

“You know, we could have shared the shower. Water conservation is good for the planet.”

“We could have, but then we’d end up ordering room service and never left the hotel until tomorrow afternoon.” Rafael raised a wicked brow at his wife and turned to the closet to get his suit out.

Olivia got up from the bed and took a bundle from the dresser drawer and disappeared into the bath with it and her dress. When she emerged after her own shower she was dressed and ready to put on shoes and coat. Rafael was fully dressed in his suit and as much as she enjoyed watching him dress, she’d enjoy dismantling the ensemble later. She slipped her shoes on as he turned to see her. He let out a low whistle.

“Still want to go out?”

“Tempting as you are, we are going out. The only thing better than looking at how beautiful you are is walking in somewhere with you on my arm.”

“I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“No need, just know that you are the most amazing woman in any room, the most beautiful, and very likely the most dangerous.” He gave her a half grin that was genuine appreciation.

“Not biased or anything, you.”

He held out her coat and she slipped her evening bag over her shoulder before he slid the coat into place. Rafael leaned close, “All three of those things are true and all three make you the sexiest woman in any room, no matter where we go.” Olivia wondered if they would make it to the promised dancing at all, if that was how he was starting the night, they might have to come straight back to their room. 

Dinner was excellent and while Rafael was not given to false flattery, he was attentive and made her feel like the only woman in the room. They did not talk about work or the events of the previous evening, instead they talked about the exhibit they had visited. They talked about travels they wanted to take, places they wanted to show Noah, places they wanted to see but hadn’t yet and places they had been and wanted to revisit. They flirted. They traded double entendre. They laughed and both privately thought that was the best part of the evening, just enjoying the company and laughing like the world wasn’t full of trouble and strife.

“I have it on good authority that this is the up and coming joint for a certain sector of music and dance fans. If it sucks we ditch it and go back to the hotel.” Rafael handed Olivia out of the cab and tucked her hand around his arm, passing cash to the driver. The sign over the door said “Everything New is Old Again” and there was a doorman but no line. Olivia wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

“Your plan, I’m just here for the arm candy.” Rafael looked at her. She continued, “You, my dear husband, qualify. You turn heads, and I am not above enjoying it.” Her grin was wide and full of promise. He returned it and pulled her a little closer.

The first hint they were not at a typical club was the coat check which they had to pass through first. The girl who took their cover fee explained that they didn’t have to check their coats but could if they liked. She handed them a numbered table tent made of plastic and emblazoned with the name of the club. They were to sit it on their table and if they danced their table was reserved, so they needed to remember their number. The next hint was her dress, she looked like she’d walked off the set of a movie set during the Second World War. Her hair was in Victory Rolls and her lipstick was bright red. Her dress had cap sleeves and a Peter Pan collar in pink with a pattern of cherries all over the dress in the exact shade of red as her lipstick. Olivia wondered how long it had taken her to find matching lipstick. They handed over their coats and Rafael took the table marker and led Olivia through the doors.

The club was large with a bar at one end and a stage at the other filled with musicians. Olivia could make out three brass players, a piano, a set of drums, an upright bass, and at least four microphones with singers in front of them. The music wasn’t as loud as she expected it to be, near the bar people could carry on a normal conversation. The tables at that end were larger, seating four and sometimes more people. Around the edges of the dance floor up to the stage were small tables with a pair of chairs at each. A young man, dressed sharply in a suit that would have looked at home in the 20s, carrying a tray of drinks passed by and smiled, paused.

“You can sit anywhere that isn’t reserved with a table marker, we’ll get your drink order right quick. Welcome!” and then he was off to deliver the drinks. They chose a table in the midpoint, a two seater not far from the end of the dancefloor. 

Rosie the Riveter showed up at their table nearly as soon as they sat down. “Hi, I’m Selma and I’ll be your server tonight. You can call me Rosie, everyone does.” Her voice was bright and she smiled like she meant it. She handed them a laminated menu. “Food on one side and drinks on the other. We can make most any drink if what you want isn’t on the menu. Would you like a few minutes to look it over?”

“Ah, ok. Please, yes.” Olivia smiled at the girl in bib-overalls with a scarf over her hair. “It won’t take us long.”

“Sure thing, back inna flash.” The girl turned and went to another table.

The menu was typical bar food but named with a wartime flare and the cocktails listed were classic. They weren’t offering trendy or exotic, just basic good bar skills and the prices were reasonable. Once they ordered, a Rusty Nail for Rafael and a Blood and Sand for Olivia, they watched the crowd, and there was one. 

Olivia noticed that several of the women in the crowd were wearing retro-fashion, some went all out with hairstyles similar to the coat check girl as well as dresses that someone her grandmother’s age would have recognized from their youth. The men were in anything from weekend casual to suits, suits were outnumbering the casual. One couple looked like they’d stepped out of Rebel Without a Cause while another was dressed like West Side Story extras. The age range of the crowd covered the spectrum from couples the age of Rafael’s mother to young couples Lucy’s age. The dance floor was busy but still with plenty of room to move. 

Their drinks finished, Rafael stood and held his hand out, Olivia put her hand in his and let him pull her up and onto the dance floor.

Olivia knew Raphael could dance, they’d had music at their wedding reception though they’d not had a chance to dance much between cake and gifts and making the rounds of thanks and visiting. He led her effortlessly. He made it feel simple and natural and she had a whole new appreciation for his jogging schedule, the man had some stamina. The band played a good mix of fast and slow songs, pacing the music for the dancers. Several of the songs were old standards and she enjoyed hearing Rafael singing softly along with the slow songs, crooning in her ear and if he didn’t know that it was like catnip for a kitten, she was going to make sure he knew it later. When the band took a break between sets, they returned to their table. The empty glasses were gone, replaced with unopened bottles of cold water. Their waitress came by almost as soon as they were sitting again.

“Water’s complimentary, sealed for safety. Can I get you another round or something else?”

Olivia nodded and so did Rafael who said, “Sure another round of the same,” he looked at Olivia who nodded, “yes, thanks, Selma.”

“No problem, enjoy!”

Rafael cracked open a water and drank for a long time. Olivia watched his throat work as he swallowed nearly half the bottle. She held her own cold bottle to her neck, dancing was hot work but fun, nearly as fun as watching her husband dance. The man had liquid joints she was certain, how else could he do those things on the floor.

“How did you learn to do all of that?” She gestured at the dance floor.

“My grandparents danced pretty often, whenever the urge struck. Remember when we were kids and those old record players would hold three or four records and play them, then you turned them over and started all over again? Well, my grandmother would always have music on, and my grandfather would come in the kitchen, hold out his hand and she’d take it. They’d dance around the kitchen and into the hall, then back again. After two or three songs he’d kiss her on the cheek and disappear back to what he’d been doing before.” Rafael shrugged, “It seemed normal to me. It was sweet and the opposite of what I saw my parents do.”

“I wish I’d known them; they sound amazing.”

“Me too, they would have loved you and Noah.”

The waitress showed up with the drinks and the moment ended. Olivia was half afraid the conversation would make Rafael melancholy, but it didn’t, it was a happy moment and the memory seemed comforting rather than sad for which she was happy.

The band took the stage again and started a new set. Olivia and Rafael were finishing their drinks.

“This is not an old song, but it sounds like it.”

Rafael shook his head, “Nope, topped the charts about five years ago, I think. It’s been rearranged in a different style. I’m sure someone is going to come up with a better term than cover or remix sometime soon.”

“Everything New is Old Again has a whole new meaning to me now.” Olivia laughed. 

They finished their drinks and Rafael led Olivia onto the dance floor again. Several songs in the band played an old Nat King Cole song and Rafael sang along, giving Olivia a smile that put a shiver up her spine in the best way, not the first of the evening certainly.

_“Send for me...send for me  
I promise you  
I'll be true  
Send for me...send for me” _

The next song was a Dean Martin classic and again Rafael sang in her ear, softly.

_“Dance with me, make me sway  
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore  
Hold me close, sway me more” _

“Take me out of here before I have to arrest myself for indecent thoughts.”

“Is that even a real charge?” Rafael’s chuckle in her ear was low and growly and the foreplay they’d been dancing through half the evening spiked a visceral response low in Olivia’s belly. She tried to stifle the very real moan in her throat.

“It will be when I act on those thoughts and climb you like a tree on this dance floor.”

Rafael spun her out and back into him, sliding his hand down her back and putting enough pressure on her lower back that her hips met his, and she knew he was as happy to have her pressed to him as she was to be pressed against him. His head fell back as he laughed, his eyes alight. The tease was on both of them and neither was sorry. He pulled her to his side and led her to their table.

Olivia discreetly checked him out then leaned close, “I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t pulled me close.”

“I have an excellent tailor.”

“No kidding.”

Rafael picked up their table number and they made their way to the bar to pay. Selma met them there and rang up their tab. “Thanks so much, hope to see you again!” Her cheerfulness came across as genuine, not an act for customers, it made Olivia smile.

“I hope so. This is a great place.” Olivia didn’t have to fake her enthusiasm.

Rafael tipped generously and went off to the coat check, Olivia close to his side.

The coat check girl smiled and thanked them for returning the plastic marker, took their coat claim tickets and came back with coats and three dollars.

“What’s this?” Rafael asked.

“It’s a refund for returning the marker. You’d be surprised how many get stolen. Sometimes people forget them on the table, but mostly they get stolen.” She shrugged. “Number thirteen is popular for stealing. So is sixty-nine.” She laughed, giving them a wink. Rafael and Olivia grinned. Rafael handed her back the three dollars, shaking his head when she tried to insist he take it.

“I can only imagine,” Olivia said as they left the counter.

By the door was an alcove marked restrooms and Olivia nodded at it, stopping Rafael before he could hold her coat for her to put on. “Two drinks and wine with dinner, I need to pay rent on that.”

Rafael nodded, “Good idea.” He handed her coat over and they both took the appropriate doors.

Olivia washed up and looked in the mirror, her face was flushed with more than dancing, her eyes a little wide and her pulse a little fast. She looked at herself hard. ‘This is what happy looks like,’ she thought. ‘I think I like it.’

The door opened and two young women came in, one of the West Side Story extras and the other wearing a poodle skirt and saddle oxfords. They were laughing and chatting as they entered, then West Side made for the stalls while Poodle Skirt came to the mirror.

“I love your dress, it was made for swing dance. Did you buy it for the club?”

“Ah, no, it was my wedding dress actually.”

“Oh! It’s so perfect though. I saw you dancing, is that your groom? Are you on your honeymoon?”

“Oh no, just a belated Valentine’s celebration.”

“Romance lives!” the girl said, laughing. “How wonderful.”

West Side Story joined them at the sinks, washing her hands so Olivia turned to go, both girls calling goodnight to her. At the door she paused, unashamedly eavesdropping.

“Did you hear that, it’s her wedding dress, how smart to get something useful.”

“Yes, I did. And she married well, the man moves like, ah,” West Side Story made a sound that had no English translation but got the point across. Olivia felt vindicated in her appreciation of her own arm candy. And she got to take him home and eat him up.

Rafael was waiting when she emerged, he held out his hand and took her coat, helping her into it. “You look like a cat that got some cream.”

“I just overheard how very good you look on the dance floor, I have to agree with them.”

Rafael made a humph sound but the smile he gave her let her know he was pleased if she was.

They found a cab and sat close, Rafael keeping his arm around Olivia while she kept her hand on his thigh, idly tracing the inseam of his slacks with her fingers. He leaned his head close to hers and kissed her behind the ear, loving the shiver he could feel that had nothing to do with the cold night outside.

With their hotel door shut and locked behind them, Olivia and Rafael turned to one another and kissed the way they’d wanted through much of the evening but being in public had prevented them. Rafael slid his arms around Olivia and under her coat, pulling her to him, his hands warm against the small of her back, his fingers spread against the top of her ass and pulling her hard against him. Olivia hummed her pleasure into the kiss, letting him explore her mouth with his, her hands in his hair then sliding down his neck and encountering his coat collar. This wouldn’t do at all, so she pushed at his coat and he pulled back a bit, letting go of her to remove his coat as she let hers slip off as well. He took off his suit jacket and she pulled his suspenders so he was against her again and their mouths met again, smile on smile, kissing deeply, satisfyingly so. 

He kissed down her throat and back up to her ear, “God I wanted to do that all night.”

“We still have all night.”

“Good thing, too.”

Rafael pulled her against him again, humming as he danced her toward the bed, his thigh pushing between hers as he held her. Olivia gladly followed, one arm around his neck and one hand toying with the tie he wore loosened at his collar. At the bed she carefully removed the tie tack he wore, the one that matched the locket she wore every day, sitting it aside so it wouldn’t be lost, then she pulled his loose tie out of its knot and dropped it on the nightstand. She started to unbutton his shirt, taking her time.

“Are you going slow to torture me?”

Olivia looked up at Rafael through her lashes, one corner of her mouth lifting, “Maybe, kinda.” Rafael leaned in and made a growling moan sound in her ear and she sighed at the feel of not only his breath against her ear but the power he gave her in this simple act of undressing him. “Delayed gratification is still gratifying,” she whispered.

“And anticipation has been killing me all night. Despite my insistence we go out.”

Olivia had the buttons undone now and was sliding her fingers under the suspenders, drawing them off his shoulders. “I’m glad we did, it was fun. I want to do it again.”

“That can be arranged.”

“It’s a date,” she said as she pulled his shirt from his pants and pushed it off. She took a step back and just looked at him in his tee-shirt and suit pants, suspenders hanging.

“What is it?” Rafael’s voice was low, curious.

“I can’t explain.” Olivia looked up at him, his hair mussed where she’d run her fingers through it, his suspenders against his legs, it was a look that did it for her. “You look so good like this, a little unfinished, a little bothered.”

“All undone. You make me all undone, Liv. And then you put me right back together again.” He stepped close and kissed her, just a press of his lips on hers, not touching her anywhere else, his hands at his sides. She tipped her head and kissed him back, then reached for him, pulling him close.

“That’s how I feel too, Rafa,” she whispered against his ear. He wrapped his arms around her and held her and they stood like that for a long moment, just reveling in the feeling they made between them. Finally, she said, “Unzip me, please?”

“With pleasure.” He slid his hands up her back and under her hair, holding it aside with one hand while with the other he slid the zipper down, as slow as she had unbuttoned his shirt. When it was down she stepped back and shook her shoulders so the dress fell into a pool of blue around her feet. “Oh. Damn.” Rafael said. Olivia smiled, having gotten the response she wanted. She was wearing a black satin teddy and sheer black stockings held up by garters. “I wondered why you got dressed in the bath. Now I know. And we would never have made it to dinner.” Olivia just smiled and cocked her head.

“Well, we might’ve been late.”

“We wouldn’t have left this room and you know it. You are so gorgeous. Damn.”

Oliva stepped close to him again, wrapping her arms around his waist, pressing close. “Is this the show don’t tell portion of the weekend?”

“Hells yeah,” he said and kissed her again, urgent and needing and fulfilling. She pulled his tee-shirt up so she could slide her hands up his back, warm skin against her palms, muscles moving under her fingers as he wrapped his arms around her, his hands stroked over her skin and the satin covering her. He stopped long enough to pull his shirt off and push the rest of his clothes out of his way, then picked Olivia up and carried her to the bed while she laughed at his rush and the pile of clothes and shoes they’d left behind.

Rafael kissed his way down Olivia’s throat, following her collar bone to her shoulder, then pushing the strap of the teddy aside to kiss down to her breast, soon to be uncovered, his hand sliding under the satin to cup her breast for his kiss while his other hand teased her still covered breast, fingers gliding over her nipple, the satin smooth but her nipple hardening as he kissed the other. He continued to slide the lingerie down, kissing and sucking at her nipple, now both breasts exposed for him and he teased them with his fingers as he kissed back up her neck and nibbled her earlobe, whispering all the ways she was beautiful to him, all the ways she was sexy and amazing and how happy she made him. Then he continued his tour of her skin, pushing the teddy off and kissing her belly, down to her thighs, his tongue teasing along the garter straps, nipping gently and soothing with his lips and tongue and fingers, worshiping his way up her thighs to his goal.

With the heels of his hands he pushed her thighs open more and slid his fingers between her labia, opening her for him. He let his breath brush along her hot skin and looked up the length of her body from under his brow. Olivia was making soft breathy sounds as if she were suppressing the sounds she wanted to make. Their eyes met. “I love the sounds you make for me.”

Olivia’s back arched and her head flung back. “You’re killin’ me, Rafa.”

“It’s called _la petit mort_ for a reason, _mi amor_ ,” he said, then lowered his head, open mouth against her flesh, licking his way to her clit where he latched on and sucked, sliding his fingers inside her with one hand while the other stroked her legs through the stockings she still wore.

He brought her again and again, each peak higher than the last and each orgasm harder than she thought she could bear, and still his fingers and mouth played her like an exquisite instrument. Her back arched again and again in pleasure, the sounds she made making him moan into her body. Olivia grabbed his hand as he stroked her breasts, tugging him forward and up. He crawled up her, his hard cock coming to rest against her where her thighs cradled his hips. She fisted her hands in his hair and pulled him against her, kissing him hard, sucking his tongue into her mouth. She stroked a hand down his back and onto his cheek where she dug her fingers in and pulled him harder against her, urging him on and in. He pushed in, his cock hot and velvet hard inside her, then he held still as they continued the kiss, fierce and demanding, neither willing to stop yet. When he finally started moving, small teaser strokes into her, she pulled her knees up and wrapped around him, her hands stroking his shoulders and her ankles locked together against the small of his back. Rafael pushed his hands into the mattress on either side of her shoulders to get leverage and looked down into Olivia’s eyes, blown dark and wide. She arched against him, pulling him as deep into her as she could.

Speech was a skill they no longer had, the only language they had left was touching and stroking and the constant connection they felt looking into one another’s eyes, as if their hearts no longer needed words to tell each other how much they loved or how much they needed or how much they wanted each other. Rafael’s slow strokes grew faster, building Olivia to another orgasm, he could feel her tighten around him, coming close, drinking him in and exploding around him, her muscles squeezing tight and tighter. When the shudder of that orgasm shook her, he let go of any control and let his body thrust as it wanted, driving into her and feeling his own orgasm build. Head thrown back and arms locked, he came deep into his lover, lights exploded behind his closed eyes and he collapsed beside her. It took a long time for their breathing to slow and their heartbeats to calm. They held one another and waited out the storm.

**Author's Note:**

> The hotel does exist and the rooms are assigned a topic according to the Dewey Decimal System. Library nerds like me think that is pretty cool. There are branches in Canada and Europe as well but I don't know if the books to take home is a buyable perk at them. Here are links to one in New York as well as the Wiki article about same.  
> https://libraryhotel.com  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_Hotel
> 
> The Morgan Library and Museum is also a real place and did have a Hemingway exhibit a few years ago, so I am only rearranging time in my fiction this time not making it up whole cloth. :)  
> https://www.themorgan.org/
> 
> Sadly the nightclub where PostModernJukebox and CosPlay had a lovechild doesn't exist but if I won a lottery I would totally open it.
> 
> And yes, there IS a playlist. Of course there is. I can't help myself.
> 
> Blame it on the Bossa Nova by Eydie Gormé  
> https://youtu.be/7XpWOBEZLEs
> 
> Send For Me by Nat King Cole  
> https://youtu.be/j3d_xdX0EXQ
> 
> Sway by Dean Martin  
> https://youtu.be/ZmUdd8G0ToA
> 
> Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen by The Andrews Sisters  
> https://youtu.be/EGveTSQbH30
> 
> Moon River by Audrey Hepburn  
> https://youtu.be/0BfUDyvdTSE
> 
> At Last by Etta James  
> https://youtu.be/S-cbOl96RFM
> 
> And thanks to BaGi14 we can ALL enjoy what Rafael might look like dancing the night away...
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/p/B4NdIishUnt/?hl=en
> 
> It is absolutely her fault I wrote this, that dancing, uh, yeah. *sigh* Thanks for that inspiration, my friend.


End file.
